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Compass Housing has been named as a finalist in three categories the upcoming NSW and ACT Australasian Housing Institute Awards.

The not for profit community housing provider is in the running for the Excellence in Social Housing Award, the Leading Community Engagement Practice Award and the Leading Innovation Award.

Compass’ nomination in these awards is a result of its whole of community approach to its provision of social housing.

Under Compass’ Tenancy Specialist Model, tenant engagement and empowerment is embedded as a core element of tenancy management. Tenant satisfaction ratings are at a record high 94%, which is well above the industry average.

A practical example of Compass’ leadership ion community engagement is “Compass Community Gardens” (CCG) is a social inclusion program based on the Homegrown initiative developed by Vegepod and Dr Kate Neale from Southern Cross University. Utilising drought resistant Vegepod garden beds, the CCG program assists tenants and community members to create and maintain a community garden, develop life skills, reduce social isolation and boredom and increase community/social interaction.  The gardens installed to date have had positive results above and beyond the expected improvements in nutrition, and social interaction. Tenants in locations where community gardens have been installed also exhibit improvements in engagement on a range of other issues including sustainability, maintenance and access to ancillary support services.

Compass Housing does much more than put a roof over its tenants heads. By providing tenants with access to education, training and mentoring, Compass is helping to create pathways out of disadvantage

Other examples of its tenant and community programs include its Grow a Star mentoring and financial scholarships for young people in social housing, and its award winning community hubs.

Compass is also involved nationally and internationally in the improvement of the social and affordable housing sector. It created the “Towards a National Housing Strategy” framework which was expanded into the national “Everybody’s Home” campaign – a five point plan to fix Australia’s broken housing system. It is also involved in United Nation’s work programs to promote the implementation of the New Urban Agenda and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Compass is recognised for its innovative approach to service provision. It is for its inaugural Affordable Housing Income Gap Report that is a finalist in the Leading Innovation Award. The report takes a new approach to the measurement of housing affordability for renters. It establishes the amount of additional income a typical renting household needs to avoid housing stress on various types of dwellings in NSW, Victoria and Queensland.

The awards will be announced in Sydney on July 4. The winners of the NSW Awards will join other state award winners at the national Australasian Housing Institute Awards in Darwin on August 27 to coincide with its national housing conference.

Compass Housing’s Group Managing Director Greg Budworth took out the national Outstanding Achievement Award for an individual at the 2017 awards.

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Not for profit community housing provider (CHP) Compass Housing today takes over the management of around 700 social housing properties in the Mid Coast Council area promising improved services and support for tenants.

The change is part of the NSW Government’s Social Housing Management Transfer which sees 14,000 tenancies currently managed by the Department of Family and Community Services (FACS) transferred to a number of community housing providers following a tender process. Compass will also facilitate temporary accommodation for local people experiencing homelessness and provide private rental assistance to those in housing stress.

Under the initiative Compass has obtained 1,825 properties to manage in NSW. This takes its portfolio to more than 6,200 dwellings, making it one of the largest community housing providers in the southern hemisphere.

It has already opened a new office at 57 Albert Street, Taree and has been working with tenants on the changeover.

Compass’ group chief operating officer Lisa Tierney said as well as industry leading tenancy and property management, tenants in Taree will benefit from a range of Compass community development programs.

“At Compass we believe community housing is about more than just providing accommodation, it’s also about building community,” Ms Tierney said.

“That’s why we offer a range of programs that help tenants achieve better social and economic participation and foster a sense of belonging and connection to their homes and their communities,’ she said.

“The transition of tenants has gone very smoothly with 100 per cent of tenants agreeing to transfer.

“We’re excited to be able to extend our offering to our new tenants and look forward to having them as part of the Compass community.”

Currently around 19 per cent of NSW’s 144,000 social housing dwellings are managed by the not-for-profit sector. That figure will rise to 32 per cent under the Social Housing Management Transfer program.

Newcastle based Compass Housing has been operating for more than 30 years. It manages properties in Sydney, the Hunter, Central West, Far West, and Central Coast regions of NSW, as well as in Brisbane and New Zealand. It also runs community development programs in Australia, New Zealand and Vanuatu.